President Donald Trump is pressing forward with a sweeping effort to secure America’s supply of critical minerals as the White House rolls out “Project Vault,” a multibillion-dollar initiative designed to blunt China’s leverage over materials essential to national defense and modern technology.
The Trump program will launch with a mix of $1.67 billion in private investment and a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, administration officials said. The funding is intended to seed a strategic stockpile and jump-start domestic mining, processing and refining—creating a modern analogue to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but for the minerals that power today’s economy.
A White House official confirmed to Fox News that the initiative has been dubbed Project Vault and will kick off with the combined private funding and Export-Import Bank financing, underscoring the administration’s push to move quickly.
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Project Vault targets materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and rare earth elements—inputs that sit at the heart of everything from missiles and fighter jets to smartphones, electric vehicles and medical imaging machines. Officials say the effort is necessary because global supply chains have become a strategic vulnerability.
China dominates the rare earth market, controlling roughly 60 to 70 percent of global mining and an even larger share of processing capacity. These elements are foundational to modern life and national defense; without them, production lines for EVs, iPhones, F-35 fighter jets and MRI machines would stall.
That vulnerability was laid bare last year when the Chinese government restricted exports of rare earth materials amid trade disputes with the Trump administration, a move U.S. officials say demonstrated how quickly Beijing can weaponize supply chains. The curbs sent shockwaves through manufacturers and reinforced warnings from defense analysts that America’s industrial base is exposed.
Project Vault is designed to counter that risk by using federal purchasing power, long-term contracts and financing tools to give U.S. producers the certainty needed to scale up. The government is expected to act as a buyer of last resort while domestic capacity is rebuilt and allied supply lines are strengthened.
The Trump administration has already moved to diversify sources, pursuing rare earth supply agreements with partners in Australia, Japan and several Southeast Asian nations, while urging European allies to follow suit to avoid shared exposure to a single dominant supplier.
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Domestic processing is expanding as well. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new rare earth mineral processing center in South Carolina late last year, with similar projects underway in Texas and other states. Bessent pointed to concrete progress on the ground, noting how quickly state and federal coordination moved.
“They started it 18 months ago. The state of South Carolina — Governor McMaster was fantastic,” Bessent said. “They said it took them eight weeks to get permits. They couldn’t believe how fast it was. And this is President Trump’s all-hands-on-deck for this national security emergency.”
At the announcement, Bessent also marked a milestone in rebuilding domestic capability. “This is the first magnet made in the U.S. in 25 years — we’re ending China’s chokehold on our supply chain,” he said.
Officials say Project Vault will lean on authorities under the Defense Production Act to accelerate projects deemed critical to national security, prioritizing minerals most essential to weapons systems, energy infrastructure and high-tech manufacturing. Early phases are expected to focus on stockpiling and processing, with later stages expanding exploration and refining.
Supporters argue the roughly $12 billion upfront investment is modest compared with the cost of disruption if supplies are cut during a crisis. Defense planners have warned that shortages could delay weapons production and weaken readiness, while energy experts note that clean-energy infrastructure remains especially vulnerable.
As competition for strategic resources intensifies, the Trump Project Vault marks a decisive shift toward controlling the building blocks of modern power—aimed at ensuring the United States is no longer at the mercy of foreign export controls or geopolitical pressure.
